The Waterside Inn — French Fine Dining, Windsor
The Waterside Inn is one of the great restaurants of the world — a French fine dining institution founded by Albert and Michel Roux on the banks of the Thames at Bray that has held three Michelin stars continuously for over five decades. In an era when Michelin stars are awarded and withdrawn with increasing frequency, the Waterside Inn’s unbroken record represents the most sustained expression of French classical cooking excellence outside France itself.
Chef Alain Roux, who trained in France before returning to take over from his father Michel, maintains the kitchen’s commitment to the classical French tradition with the conviction of a family that has been building this specific reputation for two generations. The cooking is not reactionary — seasonal responsiveness, the finest British ingredients prepared in the French manner, and the kind of technical precision that three-star Michelin cooking requires — but it is unapologetically rooted in the tradition that the Roux family brought to Britain.
The dining room on the Thames is the most beautiful in the area: the river visible through the windows, the arrival by the riverside terrace in summer, and the sense of a room that has been receiving guests of seriousness since 1972 and has refined the experience of doing so over those fifty years to a standard that newer restaurants cannot match.
For a proposal, a significant birthday, or the most important client dinner of the year, The Waterside Inn is the correct answer regardless of the question.
Best Occasion: Proposal
Three Michelin stars for fifty years, on the banks of the Thames, managed by the family that changed British fine dining: The Waterside Inn is the proposal dinner against which all others are measured. The team manages special occasions with the discretion and warmth of fifty years of practice.
Best Occasion: Impress Clients
The three Michelin stars and fifty-year record communicate instantly; the Thames setting communicates elegance; the classical French kitchen communicates quality. No client dinner in Britain makes a stronger combined statement.